You only had to ask
by Joyoust175
Summary: JD Fluff and Banter piece set post Transitions. Josh tries to ask Donna a question


"You know it's Sam's birthday next week?"

"YOU are reminding ME of a birthday? OK… John! We have an issue here…"

"Yes m'am?"

"I need you to take Mr Lyman to the nearest secure unit, check blood and DNA tests. I have reason to believe we're dealing with an impostor"

"This is another one of your funnies, isn't it m'am?"

"Sorry John – her sense of humour is a bit of a high wire act"

"I'll be right outside"

"And you don't even…"

"…get half of it – I know. Anyway, back to the point. It's Sam's birthday next week."

"Let me ask you something Joshua – Those little notes in your diary that say things like, Sam's Birthday, Christmas, Chanukah, Independence Day, you think the diary fairies put them there?"

"No, the diary fairies have legible handwriting"

"You'll miss them when they're gone"

"They're going somewhere?"

"Sam's entry this year is the last one"

"He's not having anymore birthdays? Should we tell him? I mean, there's things he might want to do, people he might want to make his peace with…"

"With whom he might want to make his peace, but that's not what I mean. I only did your diary about a year in advance… that's probably the last note".

"You're correcting my grammar? 760 verbal baby!"

"And yet you still end a sentence with a preposition."

"You mean I'm never going to remember anyone's birthday ever again."

"You don't remember them now, you are reminded of them."

"By you."

"By my notes, yes"

"So as my mom gave me a new diary"

"Do not go there bucko!"

"You're telling me the it's not part of the job description of the First Lady's Chief of Staff to fill birthdays into my diary."

"No, I think that particular duty got knocked aside for, overseeing state dinners and whatnot."

"OK and is there some other role you fit into that would have a job description which would include filling birthdays into my new diary?"

"According to WH116, all White House job descriptions must include a title and are open to scrutiny of outside parties as and when deemed necessary by either the job holder, colleague or direct superior..."

"You're asking me to define our relationship just so as I get to remember birthday's next year?"

"So you can be reminded of them, yes"

"I thought we never had to have this conversation and my house is sort of a browny reddy colour not white"

"I don't work in your house."

"We could change that."

"I don't think cleaning is in the First Lady's chief of staff job description either"

"You're not making this easy for me are you?"

"In nearly nine years have I ever made anything easier for you?"

"Only my life"

"You can be sweet sometimes, you know that?"

"It has been mentioned."

"I'm still not putting birthdays into your diary."

"Even if I ask you to move in with me?"

"Just to get birthdays put into your diary?"

"Donna!"

"Josh, you know it would be easier just to ask Margaret."

"To move in with me? I don't think it's appropriate to have my assistant live with me, believe me if I did, I'd have done that a long time ago."

"Fond of your assistant when you worked for Hoynes were you?"

"You've just got a mouth full of wise ass this morning haven't you?"

"It's 5a.m. there's nothing in your cupboard, there's nothing in your fridge, I need a mouth full of something. And you can leave out the eyebrow thing there Josh."

"This conversation has gone off in a completely different direction to the one I planned."

"You planned a conversation?"

"Yes"

"Did you come up with a name for the plan?"

"Donna!"

"I'm just asking, all the best plans have names"

"I thought you'd you know… grown out of this…"

"This?"

"The verbal stuff."

"780 verbal baby!"

"You didn't!"

"780 verbal baby!"

"You never told me that before?"

"Grownups don't tend to talk about their SAT scores, Joshua"

"Yeah but you know in the context of…"

"of the 3 million conversations we've had where you brought up your 760…"

"Yeah those…"

"I didn't think it would be a good idea to advertise that I actually had written evidence that I was smarter than my 'boss' as well as the you know easily observed daily precedent..."

"You can stop it with the air quotes there Donnatellla. I'm asking you to move in with me and you're snarking my intelligence"

"You're serious?"

"Donna!"

"No I mean seriously, you're asking me to live with you?"

"That was the point of this hideously long conversation, yes"

"Which started out with Sam's birthday?"

"Yes"

"You started out a conversation asking me to move in with you by telling me it's Sam's birthday next week"

"Yes"

"And I was supposed to follow that logic how?"

"You're wandering again"

"I'm…ahh…"

"Finding this difficult and hard to navigate?"

"You're going to snark me about that for the rest of our lives aren't you?"

"Well that and the four weeks"

"Would we be here now if I hadn't given you four weeks?"

"OK, I took you to Hawaii and I'm asking you to move in with me and I'm at this point within eleven days. I'm ahead of time, running ahead of schedule…"

"Yeah remind me to thank Sam for that would you?"

"The going with you part was all me."

"Yeah but I've thanked you"

"Can we get back to the point of this conversation?"

"That it's Sam's birthday next week?"

"How the hell are you my longest lasting relationship ever?"

"We have a relationship?"

"Well gee Donna I don't know, if I could ever get an answer I'm asking you to move in with me so I think it's kinda likely"

"When Amy tried to leave a toothbrush at your place you started to run for your life"

"Amy wasn't asked to leave a toothbrush at my place"

"You still ran"

"But it was you I ran to"

"Oh Josh"

"I know, I ended that with a preposition again, your 780 verbal is intimidating me"

"That's not what I meant, you're being sweet again"

"Donna, for the love of God and all that is holy and the fact that I have a staff meeting at 7.00 a.m. Will you move in here with me?"

"I'd love to."

"That's great, that's wonderful, that's…"

"Well Josh.. you only had to ask…"


End file.
